The Swing
by Mei Aurora Darkling
Summary: Oh dear... Z/D fluff. Dagger comes across an interesting item. So, Zidane decides to show her what it is... the physical way. Naturally, everyone MUST join in... ('cept Eiko and Amarant and Quina...)


The Swing  
  
Typed by M.A. Darkling  
  
  
  
AN: O~O***  
  
Think AU!!! The group (Vivi, Steiner, Freya, Zidane, and Dagger) visits a quaint little village (or a city with a decent park) and Dagger wanders off to explore and finds a strange landmark of sorts. Naturally, Zidane has to go get her . . .  
  
  
  
Dagger examined the object carefully. It wasn't like anything at the castle. It was tall, with a crossbar held in place high above by two triangles. There were three seats hanging from two chains each and the seats were blowing in the wind. "Fascinating . . ." she whispered.  
  
"Dagger!" a voice behind her called. She turned around and saw Zidane running towards her. "I'm glad I found--hey, whaddya lookin' at?"  
  
"This," she said pointing. "I don't know what it is, really."  
  
Zidane paused for a moment and then broke down laughing.  
  
"What?!" Dagger asked/yelled, blushing a little. "What's so funny?!!"  
  
Almost immediately, Zidane recovered from his laughing fit and stood up. He was still grinning madly though. "That's a swing, Dagger. Kids play on it," Zidane explained, it a bit shattered by amusement Dagger did not share.  
  
"Children . . . play on that?" Dagger gestured to the 'swing'. "It looks a bit . . . unstable."  
  
"That's the point. Ya see, you sit on the seat and swing yourself back and forth or someone pushes you," Zidane explained further. "Boss used to let us play on it when we were young. (I could go pretty high when I was still practicing . . .)"  
  
"Back and forth . . .?" Dagger repeated. It sounded dangerous.  
  
"Hey, are you gonna repeat everything I say or try it?" Zidane joked.  
  
Dagger steamed. Was he making fun of her? "I'll try it!!!" she stated angrily.  
  
She stomped over to the swing and sat on the seat. She pushed off, and swung slightly. Soon, though, Dagger slowed. She pushed off again, be succumbed to the same fate as last time.  
  
"Urgh . . ." she grunted. She pushed off and third time.  
  
As she swung backwards, she prepared to push off again, but something from behind her pushed. Dagger swung forward, a little higher. As her course reversed, Dagger looked behind her. Zidane was pushing her swing.  
  
"Zidane?" she said dumbly.  
  
"What?" he asked, pushing her again, so she went higher than the first time.  
  
"Why . . . how . . .?" Dagger inquired in shock. A moment ago, he had been making fun of her about her little knowledge of the outside world.  
  
"I told you. Either you do it yourself, or someone pushes," Zidane laughed from behind her. "And you probably don't know how to do it yourself, so I figured I hadta push you."  
  
Dagger was about to retort that she could figure things out for herself, thank you very much, when Zidane pushed her harder than before. This time she swung high enough for Zidane to run under her, which he did. As Dagger fell backwards, a sensation in her stomach caused her to giggle wildly.  
  
Zidane rushed on to the second swing. He plopped down, and in a few seconds, was as high as Dagger.  
  
"(Whaddya know, I still have it.) I think I should teach you to do it by yourself," Zidane told her. "Move your feet like mine . . . in, out. In, out."  
  
Dagger moved her feet, but she still began to slow down, despite her efforts.  
  
"No, Dagger. You're going to fast," Zidane instructed her. "Move with the swing. In when you go back, out when you go forward."  
  
She did as told, moving her feet _with_ the swing. Soon after, she began to gain height. "I'm . . . I'm doing it!!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Of course, silly. It's not hard," Zidane told her as he reached forward peak (which was still much higher than her) and swung back. As he did so, he laughed.  
  
"What!? What did I do now?!" Dagger asked, suddenly a little embarassed.  
  
"Nothing . . . hahaha . . . it's the feeling when your stomach leaves itself behind and the rest of you goes somewhere . . ." he explained, giggling like a deranged moogle.  
  
"Oh . . . (Phew! I thought I did something wrong again . . .)" Dagger sighed.  
  
Some time passed, and the two were still swinging. Meanwhile, back at a conviently located inn, Steiner became paranoid of the A) Absence of the Princess B) Absence of the thief and C) Likelihood of them being in the same place.  
  
"Hmm . . . say Freya . . ." he started. "How long has the thief been looking for her Majesty?"  
  
Freya looked at the clock on the wall. "I'd say a twenty minutes or so. Why?"  
  
"I'm gonna go look for that rascal and the Princess," Steiner told her as he walked out the door.  
  
"Okay . . ." Freya waited til Steiner was out the door when she whispered to Vivi. "C'mon, let's go. I wanna see it."  
  
". . . Spying?" Vivi said puzzled. Freya shook her head.  
  
"No, of course not. We're just gonna watch without getting caught," Freya told the overly cute little black mage that ticks the Authoress of when he dies in battle because his killer powers do a good part of the battle. (So cute!)  
  
"Alright," Vivi agreed. "But let's get back in time for my soap. I've missed so many episodes, I bet Lena and Jennox are divorced already."  
  
Steiner clunked down the street. "Prin--I mean, Dagger!!" he called. "Dagger!!"  
  
Suddenly, Steiner halted. Princess Garnet Til Alexandros was . . . swinging with a common criminal?!?! This couldn't be!!  
  
"PRINCESS!!!!!?????" Steiner waved his arms running down the street. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING??"  
  
"Quiet, Steiner!" Dagger commanded. "Do you _want_ to alert this entire village(AN: Or town or city . . .) to know I'm here??"  
  
"But, Prin--Dagger, what are you _doing_???!!" Steiner yelled.  
  
"Swinging. Zidane taught me how," Dagger moved her head in Zidane's direction.  
  
"With--how could you--with HIM??!!!!!" Steiner near-screeched. "Get off, criminal!!"  
  
"No way I'm letting you on, Rusty," Zidane told Steiner teasingly. "You'd break it."  
  
Dagger giggled, partially from the swinging effect, but also from the well meant insult. This, however, only made Steiner more furious.  
  
"GET OFF!!" Steiner yelled even more loudly.  
  
Behind a cleverly located wall, Vivi and Freya were watching without getting caught.  
  
"Freya?" Vivi asked.  
  
"Yes, Vivi?" Freya looked down at him. "What is it?"  
  
"Can you push me on the swing?" Vivi requested. "I haven't swung since Grandpa died."  
  
"Of course," Freya told him. "But what about your soap opera?"  
  
"Aw, I can always ask my e-mail buddies. I wanna swing!" Vivi told her.  
  
"Let's go then!" Freya ran towards the swing. Steiner never noticed.  
  
The next day, they were all boarding a ship to leave. Dagger and Zidane were last to board.  
  
Just before Dagger climbed up to the ship, she turned around before she lost her nerve. She kissed Zidane on the cheek, and whispered, "Thanks for teaching me yesterday," before climbing onto the ship.  
  
Zidane smiled, and internally decided to show Dagger more fun stuff he and many others took for granted.  
  
At that very moment, however, Vivi was using his watching-without- getting-caught -skills to watch the show.  
  
"Better than my soaps . . ." he whispered cheerfully.  
  
End. 


End file.
